After a tough two-game skid, the Lady Vols needed a spark-and they found it Thursday night in Athens. Tennessee clawed out a gritty overtime win on the road against Georgia, a victory that couldn’t have come at a better time.
With the SEC grind in full swing and the NCAA Tournament picture coming into focus, this one mattered. A lot.
The win helped stabilize Tennessee’s footing in the latest NCAA Tournament projections. According to ESPN’s updated bracketology, the Lady Vols are holding steady as a projected 4-seed.
That’s significant-not just for the seeding itself, but because it positions Tennessee to host the first two rounds of the tournament in Knoxville. And if you know anything about the Lady Vols' history, you know home-court advantage in March isn’t just a luxury-it’s a weapon.
In the current bracket projection, Tennessee would open the tournament against 13-seed High Point. Win that, and they’d face the winner of 5-seed Maryland and the play-in matchup between 12-seeds Clemson and Arizona State.
It’s a manageable path, but nothing’s guaranteed. March has a way of humbling even the most seasoned programs.
Should Tennessee advance to the Sweet 16, things would ramp up in a hurry. The bracket has them potentially facing 1-seed UConn-a team that just handed the Lady Vols a 30-point loss.
That’s a sobering reminder of where the bar is set nationally. Beyond that, the road to the Final Four could include showdowns with 2-seed Michigan and 3-seed TCU.
No easy outs there.
But first things first: the SEC. Tennessee is one of 11 teams from the conference currently projected to make the NCAA field, trailing only the Big Ten’s 12.
That speaks to the depth and quality of the SEC this season-and it also means there’s no room to coast. Every game is a resume-builder or a potential setback.
The Lady Vols now turn their attention to a massive test this Sunday: a road trip to face No. 3 South Carolina.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
It’s the kind of matchup that could swing momentum in either direction, especially with South Carolina rolling and Tennessee still trying to find its full rhythm under head coach Kim Caldwell.
That’s why Thursday’s win over Georgia was so pivotal. It stopped the bleeding.
A loss there, followed by a likely uphill battle against South Carolina, could’ve meant a four-game losing streak. Instead, the Lady Vols got a confidence boost-and a reminder that they can finish close games when it counts.
“I think it was good for us,” Caldwell said after the win. “It was good for us to get one under our belt.
It was good for us to win. I thought we played with poise and good pace and together down the stretch.
And I was a little bit worried about the momentum not being in our favor and us being deflated, and we weren’t.”
That kind of resilience will be tested again soon. After South Carolina, the Lady Vols still have a tough slate ahead. Home games against Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt offer opportunities to stack wins, but road trips to Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and LSU loom large.
The path ahead is demanding, but the Lady Vols have the pieces. If they can stay healthy, tighten things up on both ends, and build on the momentum from Athens, they’ve got a shot to make real noise come March.
The bracket says they’re in a good spot. Now it’s about proving they belong there.